Spend This Time With Me
by reilaroo
Summary: When he looked at it, Charlie thought of hope and new beginnings. The picture seemed to capture the promise of a new day. (Follow-up to Together Share This Smile)


Charlie woke up slowly as morning sunlight hit his face. As he became more aware of his surroundings, he noticed a warm body close to his. He could feel a foot touching his ankle. He opened his blue eyes and saw Harry lying next to him. The raven-haired man was sleeping on his stomach, facing Charlie, with his arms under his pillow. Charlie realized he was in Harry's bedroom. Last night was the first time that he had spent the night with his boyfriend. The couple had been dating for three months, and Harry had invited Charlie to sleep over. Both men were wearing pajama pants and no shirts. They had spent an enjoyable evening exploring each other's bodies.

The redhead looked around the master bedroom, admiring the dove gray walls and black furniture. His eyes were drawn to the large picture hanging opposite the bed. The picture was of a large clearing in a forest; the trees were tall with their branches growing together and their roots were gnarled and twisted. However, sunlight cascaded down towards the ground, softening the imposing trees. When he looked at it, Charlie thought of hope and new beginnings. The picture seemed to capture the promise of a new day.

Charlie noticed that Harry was stirring and looked over in time to see his emerald green eyes flutter open. He smiled gently at his boyfriend.

"Morning, Harry."

Harry's eyes closed briefly and blinked back open. Last night's memories washed over him and he smiled at the redhead still in his bed.

"Morning, Charlie."

Charlie rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his elbow. Harry rolled away from him and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand. He wanted to clearly see the beautiful sight of a bare-chested Charlie lying in his bed. Then, he rolled back onto his other side and scooted closer to his boyfriend.

Charlie rested his hand on Harry's hip, his thumb rubbing the jutting hip bone through Harry's pajama pants. Harry let out a quiet moan, while his hand reached up to run his fingers through Charlie's shoulder-length red hair.

"Last night was amazing," Charlie said. "Thanks for asking me to stay."

"I've wanted to fall asleep with you and wake up next to you for a while now," Harry said. Then, he worriedly asked, "Are you sure last night was amazing even if we didn't have sex?"

Charlie pulled him closer and looked into his green eyes. "We don't have to have sex for me to think that what we did was incredible. I got to kiss you, touch you, and hold you. It was perfect to me."

Harry was nervous because he was a nineteen-year-old virgin. He had only kissed Cho Chang before Charlie. He liked the dragon keeper very much and didn't want to lose him.

"I liked what we did last night too," Harry said. They had kissed and given each other mutual hand jobs. He was a little overwhelmed at his first orgasm by another person and giving somebody else an orgasm. He thought that experience was wonderful.

"Don't worry about the sex part," Charlie reassured his boyfriend. "This relationship will move at a pace we are both comfortable with. It's not a race."

Harry kissed him gently. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Since it's my day off, I suggest we stay in bed for a while," Charlie said, "unless you want breakfast now."

"No, I'm not hungry right now," the raven-haired wizard said.

Charlie rolled over onto his back. He patted his chest and raised one eyebrow at Harry. "Join me?"

Harry rolled his eyes but scooted closer to him and rested his head on Charlie's broad chest. He wrapped an arm around his waist and tangled their legs together. He felt Charlie's arms go around his back. He closed his eyes to savor this moment.

It was quiet for a while until Charlie asked a question he was curious about. "I really like this picture here in your room. Where did you take it?"

Harry stiffened in his arms. "The Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts."

Charlie wasn't expecting that answer or Harry's obvious tension. He just thought it was a beautiful picture but it must mean something important to Harry.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry; I was just curious."

Harry took a deep breath. It was better to tell Charlie now than to wait until it was too late. "No, it's ok. You should know about it if you spend the night again. That clearing is the scene of one of my nightmares."

Charlie pulled back a little to look at Harry's face. When he saw his pain-filled eyes, he said, "You don't have to explain if you don't want to, but I'll listen to anything you want to talk about."

"Voldemort and the Death Eaters were waiting for me in that clearing. I thought I was walking to my death there," Harry said with a small sob.

Charlie tightened his grip on his boyfriend. He had almost lost Harry before he had him. He had heard vague stories about Harry's meeting with Voldemort in the forest but only Ron and Hermione knew the true story.

"What happened?" the redhead whispered.

"I knew I had to die in order for Voldemort to become mortal again. I was a horacrux; one he didn't know he had made the night he killed my parents."

"You were going to sacrifice yourself?" Charlie asked horrified. He remembered that horrible moment when he saw Hagrid carrying Harry's limp body. He had thought Harry was dead; everybody thought Harry was dead until he appeared in the Great Hall, ready to face Voldemort for the final time.

"Yes," he whispered. That long walk into the forest with his dead family for company haunted his dreams. He dreamt that the Killing Curse had killed more than just the horacrux inside him; it had also killed him too. Voldemort then killed everybody at Hogwarts, all of his friends. He often woke up from that nightmare screaming and crying.

Charlie could feel small tremors from Harry's body. He knew he was shaken by this memory, but he thought he might feel better if he finished his story.

"What happened next?" he asked.

"I stood in front of Voldemort, wand in my robes, and he stared at me for a minute. The Death Eaters and the giants were quiet, waiting to see what would happen. Then, he raised his wand, I saw a flash of green light coming towards me, and then everything went black."

"Harry!" Charlie interjected. "You were hit with the Killing Curse again? How did you survive?"

"The Killing Curse killed the horacrux, the piece of Voldemort's soul died, and I was free from him," he said as he held Charlie tighter and buried his head into his boyfriend's neck.

Harry paused for a moment and continued, "When I woke up, everything was white. I was naked until I wished for robes, and a clean set of robes appeared next to me. After I put them on, I saw Dumbledore. We had a long talk about horcruxes and hallows. He told me I could move onto the next great adventure or I could go back and finish Voldemort for good. He was almost mortal now; the final horacrux was the snake. As soon as she died, then Voldemort could be killed. So, I chose to come back and fight.

"I woke up facedown on the ground. I kept my eyes closed and listened to see what was going on. I heard the Death Eaters whispering and opened my eyes a little to see Voldemort getting to his feet. He must have collapsed too after he hit me with the Killing Curse. He sent Narcissa Malfoy to check if I was dead. She examined me and felt my still beating heart. She asked me if Draco was still alive. When I whispered he was, she announced that I was dead. She only cared about her son and wanted to go to the castle to find him. So, Voldemort and the Death Eaters celebrated. Voldemort cast the Cruciatus Curse on me, and I kept my body limp as I was thrown into the air. It was strange though, there was no pain.

"Then, he told Hagrid to pick me up and carry me to the castle. He wanted everybody to get a good look at my dead body. He wanted to everybody to see that he was the victor, the better wizard. You know what happened after we arrived at the castle," Harry said as he finished the tale, tears flowing down his cheeks.

Charlie was silent, trying to digest the information. He could feel his neck becoming wet from Harry's tears, while he felt his own tears on his cheeks. Harry had survived the unthinkable, and Charlie was so impressed by his strength and courage. He didn't know if he could sacrifice himself to save everybody, especially if it meant walking to his death alone.

Charlie removed Harry's glasses and set them on the nightstand. He gently wiped the tears off Harry's face. Then, he rubbed his back, trying to soothe him and quell the tremors. "Harry, you've suffered more than most people. You are such a strong, incredible man. I'm just so grateful that you're alive. I can't imagine not having you in my life."

Harry sniffled as his tears dried up. He looked up at Charlie. "I'm glad I'm alive too and that I have you in my life. You've been so good to me and for me. You ground me here in the present, so I'm not dwelling on the past. You make me happy."

"You make me so happy, Harry. You have no idea how many years I spent alone in Romania, thinking I'd never find someone to share my life with. Then, I moved back home, just in time for that entertaining scene you had with my mother and Ginny. Somehow I found my Gryffindor courage and asked you to have dinner with me. Fortunately, you said yes, and I've been happier than I've ever been since that day."

Harry couldn't believe that Charlie felt that way about him. He thought he was the lucky one in the relationship. Charlie was so handsome, smart, kind, and down-to-earth. He didn't know why Charlie wanted a young, inexperienced wizard who had no idea what he was going to do for the rest of his life.

"Can I ask you one more question?" Charlie asked.

He nodded. "Sure."

"Why did you take that picture?" He couldn't understand why Harry wanted to see that clearing every day and be reminded of that horrible night.

Harry took a moment to compose his thoughts. "I had just had a horrible nightmare where Voldemort killed me for real in that clearing and then moved on to the castle and killed everyone there. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, Hagrid, McGonagall, and your entire family. Everybody I knew and loved was dead. I got the idea to go visit the clearing and see for myself that he was really gone and Hogwarts was still standing.

"I Apparated to Hogwarts and the gates were open, so I walked in under my invisibility cloak. I didn't want anybody to see me. I walked back into the forest even though I didn't want to; I never wanted to see that forest again. But, as I walked I felt more comfortable. The forest didn't seem so dark and oppressive. I made it to the clearing and saw how beautiful it was. It looked like a completely different forest. I had my camera with me because I had been in the moors taking pictures when I made the impulse decision to go to Hogwarts. So, I snapped a few pictures because I wanted to remember that clearing as it is now, not as it was that night. Every day I look at the picture and remember that I survived and am free to live my life the way I choose."

Charlie thought he understood now; the clearing represented the start of Harry's new life. He was right when he looked at the picture and thought it symbolized hope and new beginnings. To Harry, the clearing was the death of the prophecy and a chance of a life without the weight of the world on his shoulders. Charlie wanted the opportunity to stand by Harry's side as he figured out what he wanted out of life; he hoped it would be the journey of a lifetime.

"You can do anything you want to do, and you can take as much time as you need to figure it out," Charlie said. "Up until now, your life was decided upon and manipulated by others to do what they wanted you to do. Now, you get to decide the direction your life goes in."

Harry smiled. Charlie understood him on a level that nobody else did, not even Ron and Hermione. Charlie understood his need to be free and not a puppet on a string. He softly pressed a kiss to the redhead's lips.

"Thanks, Charlie," he said. "With you supporting me, I feel like I can do anything. I just want to find something I can be passionate about. I want to go happily to my job every day."

"I understand; I love my job," Charlie said. "Dragons are my passion. You'll find something you care about just as much. You have such a large and open heart. I believe you'll find something special."

Harry hummed in agreement and snuggled closer into Charlie's warm embrace. He smiled as he felt strong arms hold him securely. He looked at the picture before he closed his eyes in contentment. That night in the clearing had changed his life completely, and he couldn't be happier with how his life was now.


End file.
